Hyperdrive? What Hyperdrive? We're Stuck Here

I just want to point out to regular readers of 13.7 that co-founder and regular contributor Adam Frank has a piece worth reading on the NYT op-ed page today. It's titled "Alone In The Void" and it really puts the human race in its place. Here's a taste:

From "Star Trek" to "Star Wars," from warp drive to hyperdrive — the idea of rapid interstellar space travel is such a deep meme for cultural visions of space and our future that Hollywood films don't even have to waste time introducing them to the audience. You pull a lever and zap — you are in a new star system. How many people would be surprised to know that warp drive isn't even a coherent concept, let alone a near-future technology?